Disclaimer; I do not own BTR, or the movie this story was based on 'Definitely, Maybe.'

A/N; I think this is the longest chapter in the story, yet. I blame the last flash back for it, I kinda got carried away...

They'd entered the park through Central Park West and 106th, Liam still leading the way, but Logan had a pretty good idea where his son was taking him. An idea that was confirmed, when they entered the North Woods. He'd been there before, with his ex-wife, on a number of occasions; he'd taken her there on a date, he'd proposed there, they'd spent New Year's Day there when Liam had been four. It was there, where after many months of denial, they'd both agreed that they needed a break from them. A change, maybe a permanent one.

Needless to say, the stroll down the familiar paths brought many memories to Logan. He'd visited Central Park a couple of times, after they decided to see what it would be like living apart, but he'd purposefully stayed away from the North Woods. Now he could feel his stomach sinking towards his knees, and his throat felt a bit drier than it was five minutes ago.

"Did you ever give Malese that secret present?" Liam, who had been silent for quite a long while, asked and Logan was more than thankful that someone had interrupted his train of thought.

"I did. It took me awhile, but I found the time, in between the hospital, and Uncle Kendall dragging me out to clubs on my days off," Logan remembered with an eye roll the countless times that Kendall had coaxed him out for a drink.

"It's only gonna be a drink, Logie. I promise. Only a drink."

It was never one drink. It was usually drink until you drop, well for Kendall at least; one of them had to be the designated driver, and since Logan had to get back at the hospital at some point the day after, he always stayed relatively sober and ended up carrying Kendall back to their apartment, after the blond had practically dozed off. It had been a hard time for Kendall, trying to make it out as a musician in a city that was already overflowing with them, so Logan couldn't get angry with him for all those sleepless nights.

"It was actually because of Uncle Kendall that I finally decided it was time to pay a visit to Katelyn's old friend," Logan said, and Liam gave him a puzzled look.

Logan could hardly muster enough strength to push the door open. Every muscle in his body was aching, protesting to the slightest movement. He'd just pulled off a forty-eight hour shift, and yesterday was supposed to be his day off! But there had been a huge crash on Lenox Ave an hour before his shift ended on Monday, so there was no question of him leaving afterwards. The driver of a tour bus had lost control of it, which caused it to crash on a car, killing both passengers on impact. It had then rolled over, while still skidding across the road. The total count was thirteen dead and twenty severely injured.

Logan entered the apartment, heading straight towards his bedroom. He tossed his bag on the floor next to his wardrobe, and after kicking off his shoes, he dropped himself on his bed, his arms wrapping around his pillow. He just felt so tired. In two days he'd seen more dead people than he'd ever hoped to see, and it had taken its toll on him. Plus, he still hadn't had a chance to talk things out with Erin, and he hated the fake politeness in which they talked and joked.

"Made you some tea." Logan heard Kendall's voice from somewhere to his left, and he groaned in response. He heard Kendall's shuffled footsteps, as he walk into his room, and then the light aroma of vanilla and strawberry assaulted Logan's nostrils, as Kendall let the steaming mug on his nightstand "So instead of taking a day off, you pulled a double shift?" his best friend questioned, making himself comfortable on Logan's bed.

"Wasn't my decision," Logan managed to say, his eyes still shut, his face buried in his pillow.

"I know; I watched the news," Kendall said, and Logan's eyebrows rose in confusion; Kendall never watched the news "Well I didn't have anything better to do," Kendall explained "Tough day, huh?"

"You have no idea," Logan's voice was groggy. He popped on his elbows, and reached for the mug. He brought it to his lips, taking a small sip; the almost scalding hot liquid burned its way down his throat, making him moan in contentment. He gave an appreciative smile to Kendall, which quickly fell away, when he saw what his friend was holding in his hands "Ken," he muttered shaking his head "You opened it?" Kendall had the decency to at least look flustered.

"I couldn't help myself," he said, turning the small notebook around in his hands "You've been staring at this little package every night since we came here, and it was driving me crazy! I had to know what was inside."

"So I was right? It's some kind of notebook?" Logan asked, raising an eyebrow, his eyes studying the dark hardcover. Kendall's eyebrows reached his hairline also looking down at it.

"Um, well, it's something alright," he said, making Logan frown. The brunette took another sip of his tea, looking at his friend expectantly. Kendall awkwardly taped his fingers against the cover "It's a diary."

"A diary?" Logan repeated, and Kendall bobbed his head.

"Yep, it's this girl's; Malese's." Logan scooted closer to Kendall, extending his free hand.

"Can I see?" he asked, when his friend didn't immediately hand it over. Instead Kendall drew the black notebook farther away from his reach, holding it tight in his grasp.

"You really shouldn't." Logan narrowed his eyes, trying to understand what had gotten into his friend.

"I'm sure that if it was okay for you to read it, then it's okay for me too." Kendall shook his head negatively.

"No, it's not. Trust me on this one, Loges," Kendall was almost pleading, and now Logan really wanted to know what that diary was all about.

"Why? What's inside?" He questioned, and Kendall avoided his eyes "Ken, dude, c'mon! Just tell me what it's about," Logan insisted. Kendall bit on the inside of his cheek, his eyes slowly returning to Logan.

"Um...there are some things about Lynn..." he trailed off, not willing to go into details.

"Lynn? My Lynn?" Logan asked feeling quite confused. Kendall nodded "What things?" he asked, and Kendall remained silent "Seriously man, this is getting ridiculous!" He snapped, his patience running thin. He'd been awake for forty-eight hours, and he'd been on his feet for almost as many. Hot tea could do so much to sooth his nerves "Just read me an expert. Just...do that, if you are not going to tell me," he compromised with a sigh.

Kendall was hesitant. He looked at Logan, and then at the diary in his hands, knowing that if he did what his friend asked, then Logan's relationship with his girlfriend would be in trouble. It's not like he was doing it for her, but he wanted to spare Logan the unnecessary heartache. Still though, if he refused to tell him, Logan would get pissed. And a pissed Logan wasn't something he'd willingly deal with. Making up his mind, Kendall flipped through the pages until he found what he was looking for.
The blonde cleared his throat.

"It's our last night, and the plan has been in place for days." He read "My new friend; Katelyn is sweet, and embarrassed by it all. She's always waiting to see what I'll do, and I find it adorable. We are the last to leave, Katelyn and I, and as we reach the stairs, I grab Katelyn firmly by the wrist-" Kendall's voice wavered, and he stopped to clear his throat, glimpsing at Logan, who had a weird look on his face "She looks up at me expectantly and I know what will happen next..."

Kendall cut himself short, and shut the diary, his eyes quickly moving over to Logan, who looked white as a sheet. He sighed, running a hand through his hair, having no idea of how his friend was feeling at that moment.

"Look, whatever happened, it's in the past." He started, trying desperately to find a way to make this better somehow "Katelyn is with you now, and she's happy to be with you. I know that much." Logan remained silent, the mug clenched in his hand "You should find this Malese person, give her back her diary. And forget about it." Still not the slightest response from Logan. Kendall looked at him for a long second, before sliding his legs off the bed "I'm gonna call her up, let her know you'll drop by tomorrow, ok? You get some sleep and." Kendall looked at the black notebook "I'll keep this. So you don't get tempted to read the rest of it." Kendall nodded to himself, and moved towards the door "I'll order Chinese, in a couple of hours, so if you get hungry..." he trailed off. He waited for a second or two, but when Logan didn't say anything, he walked out, closing the door behind him.

Logan blinked, bringing the mug to his mouth again. The tea was lukewarm now, but it still felt good sliding down his throat. He rubbed his free hand against his forehead, and leaned against the headboard of his bed. He really wanted to meet this Malese Stone woman.

Liam had stopped walking, when they'd reached a tall oak tree, with a huge trunk, and vivid green foliage. He was looking at his father with obvious excitement in his face, his arms crossed over his chest as if to say 'Told you you'd like it'. Logan didn't have the heart to tell him he'd been there several times in the past.

"So that's where you come with mom for pick-nicks?" he asked, walking up to the old tree, and touching his palm over the trunk. Liam nodded vigorously, his bangs falling over his eyes. He pushed them back with an exasperated groan, and approached Logan, sitting on one of the rocks that were strewn around.

"Doesn't it look like a scene out of a fairytale?" Liam asked, touching his elbows on his knees, and resting his head on his palms "With the trees, and the waterfalls in the distance..." Liam trailed off, his eyes moving to the darkened sky "I like it here," he mused, a small smile playing on his lips.

Logan smiled as well, and looked around for a comfortable place to sit. He found a tree log, and he sat down on it, leaning with his elbows on his knees. He had to agree with Liam; the place looked like it was out of some fairytale. He enjoyed the silence for a second, the slightly chilly breeze against his skin, before turning his attention to the eight year old.

"You want the rest of that story?" he asked, and Liam's warm brown eyes, snapped to his "Or I could stop, if you are bored..." Logan trailed off.

"No, no! I want the story!" Liam said loudly, his voice echoing through the forest. Logan chuckled to himself.

"Okay, so, your Uncle Kendall called Malese that night and he told her I'd be dropping by the next day," Logan started "I took the day off, and got ready, feeling a bit anxious over meeting one of Katelyn's oldest friends."

Well technically he wasn't lying; he was anxious about meeting Malese, but it had nothing to do with her being a friend of Katelyn's, and everything to do with her being way more than just Katelyn's friend. But Liam didn't need to know that.

"How was she?" Liam asked "Was she as pretty as Katelyn said?" Logan licked his lips, looking his son in the eyes, as Liam patiently waited for him to start talking.

Logan bit on his lip staring at the dark maroon, wooden door. He bounced a little on his feet, his teeth worrying his lower lip, and he raised his hand to knock. He was caught by surprise, when the door swiftly opened, just before his knuckles made contact with the wood.

He pulled his hand back with a small yelp, taking a step back as well. A man appeared on the threshold, with tussled grey hair and blurry eyes, wearing a robe, its belt hanging loosely by the belt loops, and...Logan's eyes snapped up soon as he realised the man was wearing nothing underneath the robe. He heard a soft chuckle, and he could feel his cheeks turning a bright shade of red.

"Could I help you with something?" the man addressed him after a minute of awkward silence.

"U-ugh," Logan had to stop to clear his throat "S-sorry, is this Malese's apartment?" he asked, stuttering only a little, his gaze pinned somewhere on the wall behind the man's head. The older man leaned closer to him, studying his face and clothes, and Logan wanted so badly to pull away, that his legs started trembling. But he didn't; he stood there, still as he could be, while the strange man sniffed down his neck like a dog.

"Come in." He said finally, turning around and walking down the hallway without another word. Logan's eyebrows furrowed, and his mouth snapped a couple of times, but no words came out of it.

"Okay," He muttered, looking at the package in his hands, before stepping into the apartment, hesitantly.

"And close the door behind you!" Logan heard the man's voice ringing loudly throughout the apartment, and hurried to shut off the door.

He walked through the narrow hallway, following the faint brandy scent the man left like a trail behind him. The living room reminded him of the dorms back in Minneapolis; homey and crowded. There were one too many bookcases, brimming with books, a dark-wood coffee table that had definitely seen better days, a tv-screen on the far corner sporting a heavy layer of dust, a pot with a dead plant resting on the window seat, next to a bunch of pillows, and clothes strewn all over. A double door dominated the wall to his left leading to what looked like the bedroom, if the queen size double bed was any indicator.

"Drink?" Logan visibly shook himself out of his thoughts, and turned to look at the man, who was now pouring some scotch into a short glass.

"Um, no thanks," Logan said politely "It's still too early for me." The man shook his head dismissively, pouring some more of the amber liquid into a second glass.

"Nonsense, it's seven thirty somewhere," he said handing him the glass. Logan looked at it, wondering how rude it'd be to just leave it on the table "Drink!" the man almost barked at him, and in his haste to get a sip out of it, Logan spilt half the shot on his hand. The man chuckled again "Good boy," he said with a bright smile, slapping his back. Logan was still trying to recover from the extra-long swig he'd taken.

"It burns," he choked out, looking at his glass with wide eyes. He'd never drunk scotch before. He was more of a beer-guy, or even a vodka guy, but never scotch. He wasn't sure he liked it all that much. The older man gave him an odd look, before trailing towards one of the couches and throwing himself down on it, rather unceremoniously.

"So, tell me about yourself," he said his wrinkly blue eyes pinning in Logan's "What's your deal?" Logan frowned "What are your dreams? What do you wanna do when you grow up?"he added with a chuckle. Logan opened his mouth to speak, when another barked order came his way "Sit down!"

"Okay," Logan whispered, wondering where the hell Malese was. This man was kind of scary.

"Malese went out," Logan blinked, believing for a split second that the man could read his thoughts "She will be back soon. She said you should wait. So we've gotta entertain ourselves." The man smiled, but it felt more like he was showing his teeth to Logan, who shrugged further in his seat "So, what do you do now?" he questioned, and again Logan tried to tell him, but he got no chance to speak "Wait, don't tell me. You work for daddy."

Logan shivered at the mere idea of working with the formidable lawyer he'd grown up to call dad. Even though he loved his father, and he really couldn't ask for a better one, the man was ruthless when it came to his job. Everyone in Minneapolis knew, if they had any legal troubles and they wanted their job done quickly and sufficiently there was only one go-to guy, and that was Phillip Mitchell. They also knew, if there was one guy who you shouldn't mess with, in the entire state that was once again, Phillip Mitchell. Even if he'd agreed to study law, for his father's sake, Logan would never, not in a million years, agree to work in his dad's law firm.

"I guess, the spaced out look on your face means no," the man said, and Logan nodded in agreement "Mmm, you look like a suit-and-tie guy, so Wall Street?" he guessed and Logan shook his head "No wait, you probably kiss ass to some fancy uptown law firm."

"Actually-" Logan started, only to get interrupted once again, by an extremely loud sigh.

"I give up. What do you do?"

"I'm a surgical intern, in Mount Sinai," Logan said, relieved that he finally got a word on the edgewise.

"Mount Sinai?" the man questioned, his eyes widening a bit.

"Yeah, the hospital on-"

"I know where Mount Sinai is," the man cut him off with a wave of his hand "In fact I know things about Mount Sinai, its CEO, and some of its doctors, that will make your pretty dark locks fall off your head." The man said with a smirk, taking one final sip from his drink.

Logan brought his hand up this hair, running his fingers through it, slowly. Things? What kind of things? He was tempted to ask, but he wasn't sure he'd like the answer, so he opted out of it. In the meanwhile the man had stood up, he'd poured himself another drink, and to Logan's dismay he was now pouring some in the glass that was still in the brunette's grasp.

"What do you do?" Logan asked, not enjoying the tensed silence one bit.

"What do I do?" the man asked, sitting on the arm of Logan's armchair, his bright blue eyes, inspecting Logan like a hawk inspects its prey "I drink!" he said, clinging their glasses together. Logan gave him a forced smile, and after tipping off his own drink, the man looked at him with narrowed eyes "Drink!" he ordered, and Logan took another huge swig. His eyes got teary, as he kept the liquid in his mouth long enough to reassure himself that he could do it "Good, now swallow," the man instructed, and shutting his eyes tight, Logan gulped the scotch down.

It felt like flames shot up his throat, starting a fire somewhere in the pit of his stomach, travelling upwards. The man slapped him roughly on the back, and Logan had to try hard not to start coughing. He bit on his tongue, and blinked back the tears, his throat still burning painfully. He tried to focus his gaze, but it was next to impossible.

"There, doesn't it feel better?" the man's voice echoed in his ears "Now, let's talk about Mount Sinai."

Somewhere between the third and fourth drink Logan was practically a goner. All he knew was that his head felt heavy, his tongue tasted funny, and he could no longer make sense of what the older man was talking about. How he ended curled up on the couch, he had no idea. He heard someone whisper in his ear "Wake up", but he just wanted to snuggle his pillow closer, and sleep. He just wanted...

"I made some coffee." The same voice whispered again, and the strong aroma of roasted coffee, tickled his nostrils.

Logan blinked his eyes, his vision still not clear. A pair of brown, glinting, eyes was staring down at him, and the first word that came to his mind was 'beautiful'. Logan cleared his throat, knowing it would be sore the next morning, and rubbed a hand over his eyes. He slowly popped on his elbows, taking the coffee, which was offered to him with a grateful smile.

"You want some aspirin?" she asked, taking a sit on the edge of the couch, and Logan pulled his legs, to make more room for her.

"Ugh, no. It won't help anyway," he said, his voice sounding hoarse to his ears "And I should probably not drink this either," he mumbled looking down at the mug in his hands "Coffee dehydrates, and I don't need that," he kept on mumbling to himself "But maybe a sip won't hurt." He brought the cup to his mouth and took a sip, humming, as the coffee slid down his throat "Mhm, too good to stop now. But I gotta," he mused.

"Do you do that a lot?" her voice brought him back, and Logan looked at her confused "Talk to yourself?" Logan blushed.

"Not that much...Unless I'm hangover," he said with a crooked smile, and she chuckled.

"You must be Logan," she said, leaning her head on her hands, and looking at him in the eyes. Logan took a minute to get a better look at her, and the word 'beautiful' rang through his mind again. She really was, with her dark hair, falling gracefully in straight silky locks, past her shoulders reaching the mid of her back and her warm brown eyes with the long lashes, looking at him, like she knew him since forever "I'm Malese," she introduced herself, extending her hand.

"Pleasure," he said shaking it, the smoothness of her hand making his own tingle, where they touched.

"I see you drank my boyfriend under the table," she said with a soft laugh, looking towards the bedroom, where the other man was sprawled on the bed. Logan's eyebrows almost reached his hairline.

"Your boyfriend," he repeated, and Malese nodded.

"Yeah, I get that look a lot," she said noticing the stunned expression on Logan's face, who quickly schooled his features "He's my thesis advisor, actually." She corrected herself. She looked between the two of them, and then her eyes narrowed a little as she focused on Logan "What were you two talking about?"

"Ugh," Logan sat better on the couch, scratching the back of his head; the mug still clasped in his hand "He was telling me how to be a real man, as opposed to," Logan looked down at himself, another lopsided smile lighting his face "To the boy-man I seem to be." He said sarcastically, and she nodded, biting on her lower lip.

"Did you learn anything?" she questioned, arching an eyebrow, and Logan drew a deep breath.

"Ah, yeah. Apparently there's a lot of drinking involved. Also cursing, and fighting." He counted off, raising a finger for each one.

"Sex?"

"Of course. Although that's not what we, real men, call it," he said, and she hooked an eyebrow again, her tongue peeking out from the corner of her mouth.

"Oh yeah? What do you call it?" she asked, and Logan felt himself instinctively leaning forward. He had to grab at the couch to stop, his heart beating fast inside his ribcage. He looked around, searching for something to distract him, and he noticed the notebook lying on the armchair he had been sitting on before he'd passed out.

"I-I have something for you," he changed the subject, shooting up from the couch fast enough to give himself a headache. He stumbled towards the armchair and picked the package up. When he turned around, she was standing right behind him. Logan's breath caught in his throat, and he looked at the notebook, extending it towards her "This is from Katelyn." Malese smiled taking it from him.

"Wow, I haven't talked to her in ages," she said, tearing off the brown wrapping-paper.

"We'll be moving in together later this fall," Logan heard himself saying, but he was more focused on the way Malese's eyes changed as she read through the diary, than to what was coming out of his mouth.

The silence that fell between them felt almost natural. Logan had been anxious for the meeting, feeling like he had to set some boundaries from the start; Katelyn might have had something with Malese back then, but she was now with him, and that wouldn't change. He wanted Malese to know that; he'd even prepared a small speech about it. What he hadn't expected, was the pull he felt towards this stranger. The way his body responded to every single move she made was ridiculous. He had to remind himself a handful of times that he was in fact dating Katelyn, to keep himself from doing something utterly stupid. His girlfriend had been right; this woman was irresistible.

"Oh god," Malese whispered to herself, her hand rubbing the side of her neck, and Logan shifted his weight from one foot to the other, putting some much needed distance between them "Did you read this?" she asked, her eyes finding his, and Logan thought for a second to refuse he had. But then he changed his mind.

"No, but someone read it to me," he said, and Malese hooked an eyebrow "Yeah, my best friend thought it would be better if I didn't get to read it myself, but he agreed to read me an expert, a-a-and you are a great writer." He stuttered towards the end, making her smirk "He read me that part a-about you and Katelyn...And, it's very good, very descriptive." Logan had to clear his throat and Malese bit on her lip, like she was trying not to laugh "It's imprinted in my mind now, permanently."

"I think you should keep this," Malese said, pushing the diary to his hands. Logan pulled back, as if the hardcover had burned him.

"Ugh, no. I don't need too. Plus it's yours; I'm not going to...I won't..." Logan shook his head, backing away, and Malese hugged the diary to herself.

"As you want." She said, and twirled around heading towards her bedroom "Griffin," she said shaking the man's foot, and he mumbled something in his sleep pulling away from her "Grif, will you wake up?"

"Wait a sec, wait. That's Griffin, Arthur Griffin?" Logan questioned, his eyes turning wide. Malese walked back into the living room, nodding her head and his jaw hit the floor "The man is a legend! He used to own the hospital I work in, a-and now he's a writer," Logan mumbled, his hand going through his hair again. Malese stood in front of him, smiling.

"He also happens to moonshine as lecturer in-"

"Ithaca College, I know!" Logan's excitement was getting the best out of him, and Malese couldn't hide her amusement.

"You sound like a fan-boy."

"I am a fan-boy!" Logan exclaimed, and she sniggered.

"You're cute." She said, and Logan tried not too blush "I know that the age difference kinda freaked you out, but you shouldn't judge-"

"Hey, no. I'm not judging," Logan refused, raising both his hands on either side of his head. Malese cocked an eyebrow, tilting her head to the right "I'm not, I mean; Look at you, you are a beautiful woman," he said, his eyes unwilling running down her body "You are sophisticated, yet you got a rock vibe going on," he mused, noticing how great the leather pants hugged her legs, and how they matched the red jacket she was wearing on top "You are a very talented writer," he finished off, his eyes pinning in hers, and she laughed.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"To please a woman like you." Logan shook his head a little, his eyes falling momentarily to her lips "It would obviously take a..." Logan trailed off unable to focus.

"A real man," she continued and he nodded.

"Yeah, exactly...Hard to compete with that." His eyes flew to hers once again.

"Yep, well...Unless you are the competitive type," she said suggestively, and Logan had no comeback. He swallowed hard around the lump that suddenly appeared in his throat.

"Ugh...I should be going. I-I should get to the hospital." He muttered half a second later, backing towards the hallway. Malese followed him, all the way outside her front door, stopping, when he jammed his finger against the elevator button "It was nice to meet you," Logan said with a smile, and she nodded, her dark hair falling over her face.

"Yeah," she took a couple of steps towards him, stopping when they were almost chest to chest "It was great meeting you too," she said, pinning in his eyes, and Logan could keep his breaths even.

"We should probably-" But he didn't get to finish his sentence. Malese cupped his face, pressing her lips down on his firmly. Logan stood there frozen, as her tongue swept across his lower lip, demanding entrance, which he granted. He didn't kiss her back though, he was too stunned to do anything, and before he had the chance to, it was over.

"Sorry. I was really curious," she said, pulling away. Logan blinked "Griffin encourages me to cultivate my curiosity; he says it's the key to being a good journalist," she explained with a small smile.

"Yeah, a really good journalist." Logan mumbled, feeling more than a bit disoriented and she giggled, her hands still resting on his shoulders.

"Malese, is your boy scout friend gone?" Griffin hollered from inside the apartment, and Logan flinched like he'd been run through by an electric current. Malese tensed as well.

"Speak of the devil," she whispered teasingly, looking at the half-open door "I should better go."

"Yeah," Logan agreed leaning against the elevator door. Malese walked back into the apartment.

"Hey, give us a call sometime. We should all go out for dinner, or something," she said, touching her head on the frame.

"Yeah...a dinner sounds nice." Logan nodded, and she smiled before shutting the door. He waited for a second, and then he let a huge sigh, rubbing both hands over his face.

A/N; Soooo Malese is here, it will be a long while until we see her again, but she is here. Did you like the chapter? Let me know, because your opinions are important! Until the next time, ciao!